Second fold roller



Jan. 2, 1951 F. A. FOSTER 2,536,165

SECOND FOLD ROLLER Filed June 27, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l .lll DHII I IH I l ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1951 F. A. FOSTER SECOND FOLD ROLLER 4 sheet-sheet 2 Filed June 27, 1945 NVENTOR 25u11 j. ,T29s/ZW ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1951 F. A. FOSTER 2,536,165

SECOND FOLD ROLLER Filed June 27, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 N "R g IV? x j f s Y A j m il ft X Il Y YN N w Y Humm W' Jan. 2, 1951 F. A. FOSTER 2,536,155

SECOND FOLD ROLLER Filed June 27, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR HTTORNEY Patented `Ian. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SECOND FOLD ROLI'JER Application June 27, 1945', Serial No. 601,895

7 Claims. i

The present invention relates to printing presses and refers more particularly to the folding rollers for imparting the second or lateral fold to newspapers or other products of rotary printing presses.

Objects and advantages of the invention will vbe set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention., the same being realized and attained by means ofthe instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the `appended claims.

The invention consists in the n ovel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of the folder assembly, the central portion thereof being broken away.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof, partly in section along the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectio-n along the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

'I'hese second fold 'rollers must be able to operate at various distances from each other in order to handle products of varying thickness; and the problem of driving them in their various positions has had numerous solutions. All of such solutions involve mounting each of the second fold rollers for rotation about its own axis and also for pivoting about an axis distinct from its own. A kdesirable simplicity of design is achieved by mounting the rollers on bell cranks, the rollers being driven by intermediate gears mounted on the extremities of the opposite arms of the cranks. In such construction however perfect mesh is not maintained between the gear train throughout the range of necessary adjustment. Perfect mesh has been obtained by providing adjustment of the second fold rollers consisting in a pivoting motion about the axis of intermediate rolls driving them, but such constructions involve undesirable multiplicity :of parts.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a second fold roller .unit .construct- Zilk-76.)

ed simply and sturdi-ly of few parts and adapted to maintain gear mesh through a wide range of adjustment.

A further object is to provide greater access to the delivery mechanism by the use of a more compact second fold roller construction.

A further object is to provide greater workin-g clearance through the framework of the folder y in case of choke.

Other objects will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the-'present invention, there is provided a second fold roller unit in which the rollers pivot for adjustment about the raxis of the folding cylinder and are driven by a gear concentric therewith.

The rollers are urged into a predetermined adjustable relative position by resilient means adapted to yield in `case of choke, and these means slant. upward and outward from the lower extremities of the lever arms supporting the rollers, the slanting position affording greater working clearance to an operator seeking to relieve a choke.

In operation, as the distance between the two second fold rollers is adjusted by well known mechanism, they move toward or away from each other along the arcs of circles centred on the folding cylinder axis, and their lgears thus maintain constant mesh with the driving gear which is coaxial with the cylinder. It is. notable that no extra drive shafts are required in this construction, the one driving and two driven gears being mounted on existing cylinder and roller shafts respectively, except for the inevitable intermediate gear on a stub shaft for reversing the direction of one of the two folding rollers. The construction thus affords more working space through the folder frame, a more rigid assembly, and one which can be assembled and dismantled with greater ease than heretofore.

It will be understood that the foregoing general vdescription .and the following detailed description Yas well are exemplary and explanatory .of the invention but .are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in `detail to the illustrative embodiment of the invention as shown in the drawings, the folding cylinder I is carried by a shaft 2 in antifriction bearings 3, in bearing sleeves 5, 6 fixedly mounted by means of scraws l and connecting plates 8 or otherwise in the split jour- -nal blocks 3, l@ comprised vby the cross reaches H, I2 of the folder frame of the press. Shaft '2 also carries exteriorly of `cross member H gear I3 which connects it in conventional manner to the press gearing, not shown. A fianged cam plate I4 fits over the inner end of bearing sleeve 5, being held thereon by end plate I5 and screws I5. Plate le has a substantially cylindrical bearine' surface I substantially in extension of a similar surface I8 on bearing sleeve 5. Y

Rotatably mounted on bearing surface I8, which is coaxial with shaft 2, is lever arm I9, near the lower extremity of which an end of shaft 253 of second fold roller 2I is rotatably journalled in antifriction bearing 22. The opposite end of shaft 2e is similarly mounted in bearing 23 in lever arm 2li similarly mounted on bearing surface of bearing sleeve 6.

The other second fold roller 25 is supported similarly on shaft 2 in bearings, not shown, similarly located in lever arms 26, 29 journalled on bearing surfaces Il, 25 respectively, coaxially with shaft 2. Lever arm 29 additionally carries stub shaft 33 for intermediate gear 3|.

Roller drive gear 32 is coaxially mounted on shaft 2 by means of a collar portion 33 fixed against rotation by drive piate 3 and screws 35. Roller gear 3&3 on shaft 2) and intermediate gear 3i on stub shaft 36 engage drive gear 32, and 1ntermediate gear 3I further engages roller gear 3l on shaft 2l. As clearly seen from Figure 5, roller gears 35, 3l' do not mesh with each other.

Choke relief means are provided as follows. The lower extremities 38 of lever arms i9, 28, 2Q, 29 are formed with slots 39 in which spring plungers iii are slidable, the extremities further comprising threaded ears il in which adjusting screvfs i2 are engaged. Pivot pins i3 bushed in bores in the vcross reaches Ii, I2 are bored transversely as at ed to receive plungers de and have portions extending beyond the bores 4 against which the adjusting screws i2 may bear, The midpoint of slots 39 is higher than the axis of pins lid, so that plungers Q3 in extending outward from the latter through the former, slant upward. Two spring seat collars 33, di are slidable on each plunger il@ and jointly provide spring seats for compression coil springs 43, collar i5 being urged against extremity 3S by the spring, collar El being adjustably retained by nut 19 on threads 58.

Conventional adjustment of the rollers relative to each other and to the vertical plane through the axis of the folding cylinder is provided by the adjusting rods 5I, 52 each of which has an end portion formed with right and left handed threads 53, 5d respectively on which are threadedly engaged adjusting stops 55, comprising laterally extending cylindrical lugs 5l engaging corresponding recesses 53 in lever arms i9, 28, 2li, 2S. Rods 5E, 52 are rotatably supported in arms 59, E of standards l, $2, the two latter rotatably supporting the worm rod 63 carrying worm 5d,

worm b5 being carried by a sleeve $6 rotatable on rod 63 and being connected to handwheel i2 while handwheel 'il is mounted on rod 63.

It is obvious from the above that the second fold rollers 2 i 2S, being mounted to pivot for adjustment about the axis of folding cylinder i, will at all positions of adjustment and of choke relief be at the same distance from said axis and thus will maintain constant mesh between their driven gears 3l, 3l, 315 and the roller drive gear '32 which is coaxial with cylinder i. It is also obvious that the spring plungers 43 and springs l provided for choke relief afforded greater working clearance through the folder frame in case of choke by reason of being slanted 'upward in their outward extension from their pivots t3.

The invention in its broader aspects is not lim ited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom with the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

1. A second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folding cylinder, a pair of second fold rollers, said rollers being mounted to pivot about the axis of said cylinder, a roller drive gear mounted coaxially with said cylinder and roller gears mounted coaxially with said rollers and driven from said roller drive gear.

2. A second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folding cylinder, a pair of second fold rollers, said rollers being mounted to pivot about the axis of said cylinder and a roller drive gear mounted coaxially with said cylinder and engaging gears connected to said rollers.

3. A second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folding cylinder, bearing sleeves adapted to receive the shaft of said cylinder and rotatably support same, said sleeves having exterior bearing surfaces, lever arms mounted on said bearing surfaces, second fold rollers or the like rotatably mounted near the extremities of said lever arms and a roller drive gear mounted coaxially with said cylinder and engaging gears connected to said rollers.

4. A second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folding cylinder, bearing sleeves adapted to receive the shaft of said cylinder and rotatably support same, said sleeves comprising exterior bearing surfaces, lever arms mounted on said bearing surfaces, second fold rollers or the like rotatably mounted near the extremities of said. lever arms, a roller drive gear mounted coaxially with said cylinder, roller gears mounted coaxially with said rollers, and an intermediate gear mounted on a stub shaft on one of said arms and connecting one of said roller gears to said roller drive gear, the other of said roller gears engaging said roller drive gear directly.

5. A second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folder frame,

a folding cylinder and second fold rollers mounted to pivot on lever arms about the axis of said cylinder, choke relief means comprising coiled springs urging said rollers towards each other by engaging said lever arms and diverging at an angle less than the angle of divergence of lines normal to the cylinder radii on which the roller axes lie.

6. A second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folder frame, a folding cylinder and second fold rollers mounted to pivot on lever arms about the axis of said cylinder, choke relief means comprising coiled springs urging said rollers towards each other by engaging said lever arms and diverging at an angle less than the angle of divergence of lines normal to the cylinder radii on which the roller axes lie.

'7. Choke relief means for a second fold roller construction or the like comprising, in combination with a folding cylinder, second fold rollers mounted to rotate on axes adjacent said cylinder and pivotal mounting means for the same,

coiled springs engaging said mounting means to urge said rollers toward each other and diverg- 5 f ing at an angle less than the angle of divergence of lines normal to the cylinder radii on which the roller axes lie.

FRANK A. FOSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record'in the le of this fpatent:

Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Halliwell July 30, 1929' Evensen Apr. 1, 1930 Lang Jan. 6, 1931 Jordhoy Jan. 12, 1932 Crafts May 3, 1932 Wood Nov. 28, 1933 Crafts Jan. 1, 1935 

